The Experiences of Covid-19 amongst Nurses Working in Antenatal Care: A Continuum of Hardship in Low-Resource Maternal Health Facilities

Jessica Dutton, University of Cape Town, School of Public Health

In March 2020, South African went into a stringent lockdown in the efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19. South Africa was greatly impacted by the pandemic, most noticeably the frontline workers such as those in the nursing profession. This paper is based on in-depth interviews with antenatal care nurses in South Africa. The findings were categorized into the following headings: outcomes of COVID-19 policy and protocol in antenatal care, interpersonal and professional challenges affecting nurses, and changes to patient’s behaviour and emotional state. This article discusses these finding in the context of an already struggling health system and that the increased hardship caused by COVID-19 on health care professionals cannot be understood as a past event but rather as a continuum. What nurses and pregnant women experienced during COVID-19 further justifies that health care workers and pregnant people in South Africa, as they do across the continent, require greater more comprehensive support.